


Will You Marry My Mom?

by JuiceCup



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, F/F, Swan Queen Week 2015
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-09 08:41:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3243356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuiceCup/pseuds/JuiceCup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><div class="center">
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  <p>    <a href="http://s162.photobucket.com/user/futurehome_photos/media/Cover_WillYouMarryMyMom350.jpg.html"></a><br/><img/><br/><em>cover by beegoddess</em><br/></p>
</div><p>Written for Swan Queen Week, January 2015, Day 3: Arranged Marriage AU</p><p>All of her young life, Regina Mills had been manipulated by her mother.  Just when she thought she had escaped her mother's reign, Cora has returned and is threatening to take custody of her 13 year old son, Henry, if Regina does not go back to Boston and marry the heir to a wealthy family.  Just when the single mother begins to lose hope, Henry thwarts his grandmother's plan by announcing that Regina is already getting married... to town sheriff, Emma Swan.</p><div class="center">
  <p> </p>
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            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or its characters.
> 
> Just some Notes:  
> * This story is Alternate Universe  
> * There is no magic in Storybrooke  
> * Cora is obviously alive  
> * Emma is not Henry's mother or a Charming
> 
> Rated M for possible sexual content.

"Henry,” Emma Swan was relieved to find the young teen hiding in the play structure at the park, “Come out of there. Your mom is worried sick.” She shined the flashlight at him and saw the hard determined look on his face but she also noticed his tear stained cheeks.

 

“If you take me back, Sheriff Swan, I’ll only run away again.” He wiped his sniffling nose with his sleeve.

 

“Henry, your mom is in tears.” His face fell at that. “She is so worried. It’s near midnight and all of Storybrooke has been out looking for you.”

 

“I don’t want to hurt her or worry her, but if they take me away from her, it will hurt her even worse.”

 

Emma sighed and sat outside the little tunnel atop the play structure platform. She felt so helpless in that moment. She had a great fondness for Regina Mills and her son Henry. Actually she was in love with Regina, though no one knew that except her best friend, Mary Margaret. She had a feeling that Regina knew which was why the woman had distanced herself from the sheriff, especially after they had shared a moment of…lustful indiscretion several months ago. Once, just once. Emma pushed that thought out of her mind to focus on the events happening now.

 

“Henry, listen to me,” she promised it before she even thought it through clearly. “I promise, PROMISE, that I will do everything in my being, everything that I possibly can, to make sure your grandparents don’t take you away from your mother, okay?”

 

“You…you promise? You swear?”

 

“Yes Henry, I swear.” After a few moments she saw him relent.

 

“Okay.” As soon as they were both standing she hugged him, glad to have found him. Then she ruffled his hair.

 

“Let’s get you home to your mom, kid.”

 

 

[@--]

 

 

”Mother, why are you doing this?” Regina Mills railed angrily at her mother who just stood there as if nothing was wrong and as if everything should be perfectly clear.

 

“I am doing what is best for my grandson, dear.” Cora Mills answered coolly, inspecting her well-manicured nails. Her red hair was coiffed flawlessly and her eyes sparkled with menace.

 

“By trying to take him away from me?! How can that possibly be good for him?”

 

“Regina, it is clear that you do not know what is best for you, let alone him. Twice now, I have chosen suitable men for you to marry and twice you have denied both of them.”

 

“Is that what this is about? Revenge? Because I did not marry the horrible men you chose for me?”

 

“They were men of great wealth and power. They could have given you a lifestyle becoming of a Mills.”

 

Regina clenched her fists and wanted to lash out. This argument was old and tiresome.

 

“If you had married Kirkland all those years ago…”

 

“If I had married Kirkland Pierce the _third_ , I would have not had Henry!”

 

“Please don’t remind me that you ran away and, and had a torrid …”

 

“One night stand, mother, you can say it. Henry knows it. Neither of us is ashamed.”

 

“Well you should be. Do you even know the father’s name?”

 

Regina rolled her eyes and sighed. This was unbelievable. Her mother knew the answers to all these questions. It was a moment so long ago and she was young, impressionable and inexperienced. In fact, the whole ordeal was not even all that pleasant, but she could never regret it because she got her wonderful son out of it. Flipping her dark hair over her shoulder she looked to the cold woman sitting regally still in her favorite leather arm chair in the living room.

 

“Look at this hovel you live in.” Cora looked down her nose at her surroundings. She had always expected her daughter to do well; insuring the continuance of keeping them both in the lap of luxury.

 

“This is a perfectly fine two-bedroom house that Henry and I adore.”

 

“It’s disgraceful. I did not raise you to live like this Regina. Now if you had taken my recent advice and married Paxton Montgomery, who by the way has been besotted with you since childhood…”

 

“I would have been bored and miserable and lived a _cursed_ life as I have with you.”

 

“You are a selfish, ungrateful girl! I gave you everything!”

 

Everything except love, compassion and understanding. Regina was uncertain how depressing her life might have been had she not had her father there. Henry Mills doted on her and showered her with affection when all she got from her mother was insecurity and criticism. She didn’t even think that her mother loved her father and had only married him for his money and stature; she just tolerated him. As a child Regina had wondered why her father didn’t just leave the emotional abuse behind and had realized one day in her teen years that he stayed because he didn’t want to leave her with her mother. She missed her father desperately at the moment. Henry Mills had died when she was 17 and left a big gaping hole in her life.

 

“You gave me fear, insecurity, your bitterness, emotional and verbal abuse. And now, you’re just continuing to try and hurt me. You’re my _mother_ and you’re trying to take away my child! Don’t tell me it’s because you care! You’re using him as a bargaining chip to get what you want!”

 

Her mother’s calculating smile told Regina that she had hit the mark.

 

“I am not going to let you take Henry away.”

 

“Dear, I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter.” Cora rose and walked slowly to her daughter. “Let’s compare our situations shall we? With me, Henry will live in Boston. He will go to the finest schools. He will have his grandmother and his step-grandfather… _two_ parental figures, Regina.” Cora circled her daughter. “He will have affluence, stability and security.” But no love. “What will he have with you, dear? A single mother, living in a small town, a mere dot on the map that offers nothing special. Not to mention a mother who is also an out-of-work chef. Really, Regina you went to Harvard, for goodness sakes, only to drop out to later attend culinary school.”

 

“I told you this is just temporary.”

 

“You know that you can avoid all this.” Regina noticed the almost affectionate look on her mother’s face. She knew better though. Any affection reflected on her mother was for the love of the _game_ , not any love for her daughter. Cora Mills loved power and victory above all else. Regina closed her eyes and shuddered at the price she would have to pay to make this all stop. She did not have to ask. Her mother was only too happy to tell her the terms. “You and Henry can move back to Boston with me and you will drop all this nonsense about opening your own restaurant.” Regina felt the bargain wasn’t quite over.

 

“And?” she asked, “What else? You always leave the worst condition for last and usually take great pleasure in dealing it out.”

 

“You become Mrs. Paxton Montgomery.”

 

Suddenly the front door flew open and Henry bounded into the living room launching himself at his mother.

 

“Oh HENRY!” Regina enveloped him in the tightest hug she could give him and nearly wept with relief. She pulled him back to look at him. “Let me look at you! Are you alright? Don’t you EVER do that to me again, do you understand me.” She pulled him back into a tight grip and kissed the top of his head breathing him in.

 

“Mom, you’re crushing me.”

 

“Good.”

 

“Henry, darling.” Cora said, rubbing her hand down the back of his head. Henry moved away from her touch, turning Regina’s body with him. Regina caught the bitter disapproval in her mother and cringed remembering how she feared that same stance when she was a child because it meant punishment was not far behind. She protectively held Henry tighter. “I advise you to not pull stunts like these any longer, Henry. You won’t be able to run away when you are living in Boston.”

 

“I’m not going to Boston. I’m staying in Storybrooke with Mom.” Regina stroked his back to soothe him. A movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention and there leaning against the doorway to the room was Sheriff Emma Swan. She smiled at Regina reassuringly and Regina felt a flutter in her stomach. She had seen the Sheriff around town but had not really been in this close a proximity since…well since that afternoon, when things went a little too far, and truthfully felt a little too good. Okay, A LOT good.

 

“I found him at the park.” Emma stepped forward and stood beside them and suddenly Regina felt stronger and less alone. Emma placed her hand on Regina’s back and their eyes met and held.

 

“Thank you, Emma.”

 

“Who are you?” It was more of a demand than a question, the sheriff noticed, coming from the stern looking older redheaded woman.

 

“Emma Swan,” she held out her hand but when it was apparent that Regina’s mother wasn’t going to shake her hand, or be nice, she dropped her hand and continued unfazed, “I’m the Sheriff of Storybrooke.”

 

“Emma, this is…” Regina sighed not wanting to actually admit the next bit, “…this is my mother, Cora Mills.”

 

Usually Emma would tell someone she was just introduced to that it was a pleasure to meet them, but why lie now?

 

Decidedly, Cora felt that Emma was of no threat so she went on with her business. “Regina, when can I expect you and Henry in Boston?”

 

“What?” Henry and Emma asked in unison both looking to Regina for clarification. Their looks of shock only made Regina sigh. She hadn’t decided what to do and she didn’t want to consider her mother’s ultimatum but she would do _anything_ to stay with Henry.

 

“I don’t want to go to Boston, Mom. Tell her that we have a good life here! We have friends that are like family.”

 

“Henry, it will be better in Boston,” Cora trudged on. “You need a stable home, two parents. And you will have all of that when your mother marries in Boston.”

 

“Mother!” Regina exclaimed avoiding Emma’s agitated stance, hands on hips seeming to demand an explanation.

 

“But I do have a stable life here,” Henry went on furiously. Regina bent to hug him to try and calm the teenager, “... and I _will_ have two parents here because Mom is already getting married!” Regina’s face was hidden behind her son’s head so no one could really see her frown, except for Emma.

 

The blonde however was looking at Henry suspiciously.

 

Cora scoffed derisively, “And who is she marrying, dear boy?”

 

“She’s marrying Emma!”

 

And that was when surprised wide brown eyes darted up and met unreadable green ones.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Emma deal with Cora’s shock and anger in the aftermath of Henry’s declaration that they are getting married.
> 
> Henry learns of his mother’s and Emma’s feelings for each other and he has some ground rules.

_“Henry, listen to me,” she promised it before she even thought it through clearly. “I promise, PROMISE, that I will do everything in my being, everything that I possibly can, to make sure your grandparents don’t take you away from your mother, okay?”_

_“You…you promise? You swear?”_

_“Yes Henry, I swear.”_

 

Emma had a sinking feeling that her earlier vow to Henry was going to come back to bite her in the ass. Now, as she saw Regina’s shocked expression turn slightly accusatory, she wasn’t entirely sure what her next step should be. She calmly turned her head to examine Cora’s reaction and was not prepared for the scathing, hateful look she saw directed at her.

 

“That’s a lie!” Cora narrowed her eyes and then glared at her daughter who was slowly surfacing from hiding behind her son’s head. Regina’s perusal of her mother lasted only seconds before she turned her head toward Emma in an almost apologetic manner for what was sure to be an unpleasant outcome from the older woman. “This is all a ruse. It’s not a very good one, Regina.”

 

“Henry, go to your room.” Regina cradled Henry’s face.

 

“But Mom…”

 

“Henry… please.” With a sigh and a roll of his eyes he started to leave the room but not without shooting Emma a burning look urging her to remember her promise. She returned a subtle slight nod with her eyes to him, at least letting him know that she was aware of what he expected of her and when he disappeared, she regained her poker-face as she turned back to the two other women in the room who appeared to be in a stand-off.

 

“Regina, what is this nonsense? You’re forgetting, dear, that I know you better than you know yourself.”

 

Emma jeered at that and shook her head from side to side deciding finally that she disliked Cora Mills. She was absolutely awful and the sheriff was finding it a little hard to believe that Regina could come from a human being so foul and arrogantly patronizing. Regina could have a coarse attitude at times as well, act a little uppity on occasion, but this woman seemed to be the mother of everything unholy and mean. Emma felt compelled to knock that condescending grin right off the woman’s face. She glanced at Regina only to find the beautiful dark haired mother standing there seething.

 

“Maybe you don’t know me half as well as you think you do, mother.”

 

“Are you honestly going to stand there…” Regina’s mother gestured, “… and tell me that you are actually interested in this… this…” Emma put her hands on her hips defensively and Regina cringed at the word possibilities that could come out of her mother’s mouth. “…woman.” Both younger women relaxed slightly.

 

“It really doesn’t matter what you think, Cora. I’m not going to let you bully your daughter or your grandson. They’re not going to Boston.” _What the hell…?_ Emma could not quite believe those words had come from her mouth. She was acutely aware that both Mills women were staring at her with their mouths hanging open in surprise. _Oh what the hell?_ She was already fully involved in this now. “I’m not letting you take them away from me.”

 

Emma thought she saw a flicker of something in Regina’s brown eyes but she didn’t have time to ponder that as Cora’s belittling smile made a comeback appearance and she sauntered a few steps away in a haughty manner.

 

“Now Regina, dear. Tell your mother the truth.” She pierced her daughter with a withering look. Emma moved closer to Regina and placed a soothing, reassuring hand on her back, for which the dark haired woman was grateful.

 

“My relationship with Emma is really none of your concern.”

 

“This is outrageous AND unacceptable!” Cora came at her daughter again and Emma was ready to step in the way but the older woman stopped as if thinking better of it. Emma could feel the tension in Regina’s spine but was so proud of her that she continued to hold it ramrod straight. “You are not good enough for my daughter.”

 

“She’s more than good enough.” Regina defended and Emma tried to hide her surprise at the comment.

 

“I do not believe this.” Cora grabbed her clutch off the side table and headed for the foyer but as she passed them she spat, “My daughter is NOT a lesbian.”

 

“She sure kisses like one.” Emma smirked and was rewarded with Regina’s jaw dropping and Cora’s eyes bugging out of her head. “We could show you if you like.” The blonde leaned closer to Regina, whose eyes were on Emma’s lips. Hot damn, it almost looked like the brunette wanted to be kissed; not that Emma didn’t want to kiss her, but it was meant to be a bluff.

 

Cora crossed her arms and glared as if to dare them to actually do it to prove her wrong. _Oh hell yeah!_ No one was going to have to heavily persuade Emma Swan to kiss Regina Mills. She was a house on fire to kiss Regina every morning that she woke up. The blonde sheriff slipped her arms around Regina’s waist as if this was as natural as breathing and Regina’s hands skittered up her upper arms and then around the blonde’s shoulders. When their mouths were only a hair’s breath away, Cora huffed indignantly.

 

“ENOUGH!” Emma wanted to jump gleefully because the old witch was tack-shitting mad!

Emma, instead of kissing the beautiful woman in her arms, pulled her closer and buried her face in her neck, and enjoyed the woman’s natural scent. Damn she thought she could feel Regina’s nipples harden through her shirt.

 

Obviously unnerved and uncomfortable while still being rather livid at the display of affection, Cora attempted to stop this scene. “That is enough now. Come, come!” Cora fumed clutching her bag. _Oh, she’s just making this too easy!_

“Mmmm… that’s exactly what I said to your daughter the other night.” Emma retorted, wiggling her eyebrows roguishly at the older woman who suddenly looked so angry that she might breathe fire. Regina’s forehead hit Emma’s shoulder and Cora spun on her heel malevolently and stormed out.

 

When they heard the door slam, Emma started giggling like a school girl. “Well that was fun, huh?” Emma wanted to pull back but Regina still had her head on her shoulder. “Regina? Hey…” There were tears in the brunette’s eyes and that confounded the sheriff. Regina Mills was always so in control of herself. For as long as she had known the woman she had never seen her truly rattled, until now.

 

The blonde cradled the other woman’s face in her hands and brushed at the tears with her thumbs. Regina looked so vulnerable and sad that the only thing that seemed right was to console her. Without thinking, Emma’s lips began to kiss the tears away. “Shhh… Regina, it’s okay.” Her lips wandered to the corner of Regina’s mouth and the next thing she knew their lips were brushing and opening against one another’s. It was like taking a sip of water after not having drunk for so long. Emma wanted more and more. Soon their soft, sweet lip play turned into tongues invading and retreating, stroking and licking. _Whoa!_ Emma heard a throaty moan but couldn’t tell if it was hers or Regina’s but she suddenly felt the brunette’s hands move from her shoulders and down her back continuing their journey onward. _Oh yeah, lower, move them lower._ Just as Regina’s fingers moved over the waistband of the back of Emma’s jeans a yell came from down the hall.

 

“Can I come out now?” _Oh yeah, Henry. Great timing, kid!_ Regina pulled away first, slowly, and looked into Emma’s eyes. The blonde considered it fortunate that she looked just as disappointed as Emma felt to be interrupted. That was a good sign. Regina closed her eyes and placed her forehead against the sheriff’s.

 

“Yes,” she shouted back and then unexpectedly kissed Emma quickly one last time before jumping away. _What the hell was that?_ Emma was so confused. Regina had been doing her best to avoid her for months. Then that extra sweet kiss at the end baffled her. It didn’t feel like a kiss of apology or finality, but one of promise. The sheriff swore inwardly. She had never met another woman before that ran so hot and cold. And dammit, while it should have been a turn off it made her only want Regina Mills more!

 

Henry strolled into the room taking his earbuds out. “Is she gone?”

 

“Yes, Henry, she’s gone.” Regina took a seat on the sofa and placed her face in her hands. Emma momentarily wondered if she was crying but was relieved when Regina just sighed and brushed her hair from her face. Henry sat beside his mother and put his head on her shoulders to show unity and support.

 

That made an adorable scene seeing mother and son together like that. Emma suddenly felt fiercely protective of both of them and she would gladly have words and fight battles to keep anyone from separating them or causing them harm.

 

“We’re not moving to Boston, are we mom?” Henry’s eyes pleaded and Regina sighed. Regina contemplated the mess she was in and she sighed heavier in frustration.

 

“What did she mean when she said you were going to marry in Boston?” Emma suddenly remembered Cora’s remark disdainfully. She crossed her arms in a silent demand for explanation, though a part of her knew one wasn’t owed to her. After all, what was between her and Regina besides what started out as a good friendship, a heavy crush on her part, and then an afternoon of unbridled passion, followed soon afterward by awkwardness. The blond huffed at that last bit.

 

Regina gave her a sideways glance and was wary for a moment and then she answered, “She wants me to marry Paxton Montgomery, a wealthy tycoon and hotelier.”

 

Emma mouth dropped at that. “The owner of the Crown Palacio Hotel chain around the world? He’s like a billionare!”

 

Regina laughed absently. “Not like, Emma, is. He _is_ a billionare.” Emma shuffled from one foot to the other a little insecurely all of a sudden. By financial comparison Emma was already lacking and that pissed her off. But hearing Regina’s next comment was like a soothing balm and her jealousy dissipated. “He’s also a self-absorbed, conceited, pompous jerk.”

 

“So…” Emma hoped, “…you don’t, you know, like him…even a little?”

 

Regina’s eyes skittered to Emma reading that hopeful expression on the woman’s face that she found adorable and she smiled reassuringly. “Not even in the slightest. I’ve known him and disliked him since we were children. He always thought he was better than everyone else.” Regina looked to the sheriff and the sudden look of relief that passed over her features made her want to giggle. Instead she looked at her son and placed her lips on his messy crop of hair and breathed him in. He smelled of night and park.

 

“As for you, young man, I was panic-stricken that something had happened to you.”

 

“ _You_ were panicked? I thought I was going to have go live with that woman! Mom, I don’t want to. If I have to go live with her, I’ll run away again.”

 

“Henry…”

 

“No. I don’t want to go to Boston. I want to stay here. With you.” Then he looked up to Emma importantly. “And Emma.” Emma gave him a pointed look and he continued, “You swore.”

 

“What?” This came from Regina with an inquiring brow and then to Emma she narrowed her eyes, “What does that mean?”

 

Henry piped up with his explanation before Emma could think of what to say. “Emma swore she would help us. She promised me that she would do everything she could to keep us together.”

 

Regina questioningly glanced repeatedly between Emma and her son. “So… so that kiss, was an act?”

 

“What kiss?” Henry scrunched his nose.

 

“Regina…”

 

“You kissed my mom?” Henry was wide eyed now and Emma thought she saw a hint of belated excitement.

 

“No… no…” Emma began her clarification so Regina would not get the wrong idea as it appeared she was right now. “We pretended to _almost_ kiss when your mom was here. I kissed you after, _after,_ she left. It meant something, Regina, for both of us.” Emma was really hoping on that last part and since the woman did nothing to correct her, she wanted to squeal in delight because she was right. _Hot damn!_

Henry, mouth agape, gazed between the two women and a smile broke out on his face. “Cool…” Then he was buzzing with excitement. “This is totally AWESOME!! It’s PERFECT!! You two like each other!”

 

“More than like,” Emma elucidated while her eyes bored into Regina, her feelings plain on her face. Regina gasped, flushed and looked down at the coffee table and the corner of her mouth crooked up. _Jumping Christ!_ Emma noticed there was no quick denial there either.

 

“You love my mom!” Henry beamed at Emma and the sheriff’s lips quirked in response. “What about you, Mom? You love Emma, right?”

 

 _Uh-oh…_ Emma’s brain shifted into auto pilot and she immediately ordered, though she realized it wasn’t her place to after the words had come out, “Henry, go to you room.”

 

“What, again? Aww, come on!”

 

“Henry, you can stay.” Regina asserted and then to Emma she added, “Who are you to order my son around?”

 

“His future stepmom, it looks like,” and she gave Henry a look that he considered for a moment before he got up.

 

“Wait just a damn minute,” Regina protested grabbing Henry’s hand to keep him from walking away. “If we are going to talk, we can do it in front of Henry. After all, it seems this was a plan _you two_ cooked up without me.” Before Emma could respond, Regina blustered on, “…besides, Henry and I are honest and we don’t hide things from one another.” The dark haired mother threw Emma a defiant look.

 

“Oh yeah? So he knows about what happened a few months ago?”

 

The face of the woman sitting on the couch immediately paled.

 

“What happened a few months ago?” Henry frowned looking at his mother, noticing that seemingly all the blood had rushed from her face. He glanced at Emma whose arms were crossed expectantly. Women were weird, he thought.

 

Regina was still staring at the middle of the coffee table when she released Henry’s hand, with a sharp look in Emma’s direction, and nudged him away. “Henry, go to your room.”

 

The teen rolled his eyes and griped, “Awww, MAN!” Then he trudged into the hallway giving them both a dirty look. When they heard his door shut, they faced each other, daring the other one to start first. In times of awkwardness, Emma always went for humor or sarcasm.

 

“Kids, huh? We should have _more_.” She thought she saw a ghost of a smile flit across Regina’s lips and then the thought of having more children with the dark haired beauty suddenly appealed greatly to her.

 

“Emma, I don’t know what you and Henry planned…”

 

“First of all, we didn’t _plan_ anything. Henry saying that we were getting married was as much a surprise to me as it was to you.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Second of all, before anything else happens, I need to get something off my chest.” Emma saw Regina cross her arms as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. “I know you know I have feelings for you. I’ve had feelings for you for a long time now.” Unreadable brown eyes studied her and Emma forced herself to keep her eyes directly on her face. Thankfully there seemed to be calm and patience for her to finish. “What happened between us that afternoon meant something to me, Regina, even though it didn’t mean the same for you…”

 

“It did,” a soft peep came from the couch and Emma narrowed her eyes in scrutiny.

 

“What?”

 

“It meant the world to me, Emma, which is why I got so scared.” Regina watched the blonde sheriff round the coffee table and sit beside her on the sofa. Under the circumstances and the emotional topic of conversation, Regina thought that her nearness might be awkward, but she was surprised that it felt more comfortable. This was obviously a conversation that was long overdue. “The truth is I’m not very experienced when it comes to affairs of the heart.” On a guffaw, she gestured to the foyer, “You’ve met my mother. When it comes to actual _real_ love my mother wouldn’t know her head from a hole in the ground.” Emma couldn’t help the chuckle at that. “You know I didn’t date at all while I have lived here in Storybrooke, but what you don’t know is that I didn’t really date at all before I came here. I mean, I had a couple of dates with men here and there, but being a single mother, I was always so protective and careful not to let anyone in because I had Henry to think about. And truthfully no one seemed worth it.” Then she glanced at Emma importantly, “Until you.”

 

Emma reached for her hand and Regina let her take it and hold it. She even squeezed Emma’s fingers back affectionately. “Now, there is nothing wrong with what we did and I am not ashamed or embarrassed by it - I actually really enjoyed myself - but to realize that I was having these feelings for you, and that you had made a difference in my life when no one else had, and then you being a woman on top of that… yeah, I freaked out.” Emma had tried to hold onto every word since Regina was babbling a bit, but when she heard that she had enjoyed their afternoon together, her heart soared.

 

“I thought… I thought I scared you off. That maybe I was the only one feeling things.”

 

“I know.” Regina looked sincerely at Emma then. “… and I’m sorry I handled it so badly.”

 

They had gotten nearer to each other, somehow, and they realized their thighs were touching. Then they both leaned their foreheads together and soon their lips met and the kiss they shared spoke of forgiveness, understanding and new beginnings.

 

Emma was so elated in the knowledge that Regina had feelings for her that she gathered her close and kissed her soundly on the lips. “Being here with you like this, letting me kiss you is making out to be a great apology.”

 

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma’s neck and smiled, “ I could probably do better.” Then the dark haired woman touched her lips to the sheriff’s to tease her playfully. When Emma felt Regina nibble her bottom lip, she groaned, cupped the back of her head and slanted to get a better angle to deepen the kiss using her tongue. Regina sobbed her approval and pushed Emma down to the cushions and moved on top of her on the couch, her tongue diving insistently into the blonde’s mouth. _Whoa!_ Emma gripped the older woman’s body tightly above her and then her hand traveled from the middle of Regina’s back to her bottom for a suggestive squeeze, swallowing Regina’s whimper.

 

“Can I come out now,” they both heard from the hallway, disrupting them and breaking them apart, “or are you guys doing… stuff…”

 

Emma couldn’t help but give a hearty chuckle at that. Henry Mills cracked her up. Regina playfully swatted her arm and then proceeded to straighten herself. “Yes, Henry, you may come out.” This time the kid’s footsteps were pronounced and slow and then he crept his head around the corner seemingly to check things out first. Funny kid. A look of relief passed over his features and he sauntered in normally.

 

Henry jumped into the arm chair haphazardly and proposed, “Listen, we need to have some ground rules.” His mother frowned at him confusedly while the sheriff had an amused expression on her face. “If you guys want to full on make out, can you do it in your room?” Regina was aghast at her son’s suggestion and Emma was trying to hold back a laugh behind the fist she had up against her lips. “I promise to give you privacy and not to disturb you unless the house is on fire.”

 

“Henry!”

 

“What mom? I’m 13. I’m old enough to know how these things work.” Regina looked even more horrified at that and she turned quickly to Emma who was barely succeeding at containing her laughter. Emma just shrugged back at her.

 

“And what exactly do you _know_ about these things, Henry?” Regina asked crossing her arms, the regular parental battle stance.

 

“I know parents need to get their groove on too. I would just rather not see it…or _hear_ it.” That last part sounded like he was inferring that he could hear them just now. Regina turned bright red.

 

“Oh and another thing. Definitely NO kissing if my friends are over. Because, well, they’re 13 year old _boys_ and we, like, talk about _stuff_ and I think I’d rather _die_ than have them talk about my mom and her girlfriend like that.”

 

“I’m praying for death right now,” Regina muttered under her breath and Emma resorted to biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing still.

 

“Anything else, Henry?” Emma asked, eyes moist with mirth.

 

“Hmmmm… you know, you could full on make out in the living room if I could get a TV for my bedroom,” he suggested hopefully. Regina groaned and bent over putting her face into her hands. Emma stroked her back.

 

Emma shot Henry an admiring grin and answered, “I think that was a ‘no’, but nice try anyway.”

 

The teen got up and shrugged, “It was worth a try.” Just as he was about to head to the kitchen, he stopped and turned. “Oh, so can I invite my best friend, Nick, to the wedding?”

 

Regina’s head shot up and she looked from Henry to Emma. “I….” Regina began, “I don’t think…”

 

“We don’t know…” Emma said at the same time.

 

Henry rolled his eyes and looked at his mother pointedly. “Has Grandma given up then? Or is she still going to try to take me away from you because I need a stable environment and _two_ parents and blah, blah, blah…”

 

Regina’s shoulders hunched forward with a crestfallen look upon her face.

 

“So can I tell him he can come?”

 

Emma thought that this was probably the saddest wedding proposal she had ever heard of.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina fills in as the morning cook at Red’s diner to help her best friend Ruby out, while Emma visits her best friend, Mary Margaret, who happens to be the mayor of Storybrooke. They both learn that Cora Mills has been snooping around town.

Regina walked into the diner and was greeted immediately by Ruby in extreme relief.

 

“Oh my GOD, Regina! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!” Ruby ran from behind the diner counter and gave her a bone-crushing hug. “You are seriously the _bestest_ best friend in the world.”

 

“Bestest?” Regina chuckled at that and patted Ruby on the back. “Really? Rubes, you have always had a flair for the dramatic; which is why you probably should have been an actress instead of a diner owner in Storybrooke, Maine.” Regina looked at Ruby who was a few years younger than her. Her long straight dark hair hung down her back in luxurious waves. Running on a daily basis helped keep her body trim and tight. Not only was she a beautiful person on the inside but she was a stunning woman on the outside and there were patrons in the diner, even now, who could not stop staring.

 

“I prefer a drama free life.”

 

“Yeah, well, so do I but my drama always seems to catch up with me in the end.”

 

“Speaking of that,” Ruby put her index finger to her chin, “…there was a woman in here early this morning; an older woman, stylish, well put together, reeking of wealth, not even one dyed red hair out of place…”

 

“Ugh,” Regina groaned, stepping behind the counter. “What did she want?”

 

“She wanted to know how long you and the sheriff were doing the whole _lust and finger-thrust_ thing.”

 

Regina walked past the swinging door into the kitchen area and placed her bag and personal items in the closet. “And what did _you_ say?”

 

“I just shrugged and said, ‘for a while now’ and then I added that I thought you guys were HOT together! You should have seen her face. I thought that old bat was going to hiss and fly out of the room.” Ruby stepped up behind her and stroked her back. “You weren’t kidding about your mom, were you? That woman is a real battle-ax. You’re lucky Granny wasn’t around to give her a piece of her mind. You know Granny considers you and Henry family.”

 

Regina sighed and tied the apron securely around her waist. Many times she had confided to Granny and Ruby about her manipulative mother and her past. She remembered how she came to be in Storybrooke. She and Henry were searching for a new life. He was only 4 at the time and she desperately needed a new start. She was young and was not sure where she was headed, realizing now how foolish and reckless that idea probably was. Her car broke down right in front of Red’s Diner and she and Henry had stepped in to use a phone and inquire for help. What she didn’t know was that she would be meeting her future family. Granny and Ruby took her in, gave her a part time job and helped her find a place to live. They helped babysit Henry whenever she needed it and were always there to offer aid and support.

 

“How is Granny,” Regina asked suddenly concerned. It was why she was here this morning.

 

“Being difficult as usual. She wanted to come down here and see you personally, after I told her Cora was in and she is quite upset that I made her stay upstairs. She’s too old to be limping around on a broken leg and crutches. But do you think she listens?” Ruby threw her hands up. “We really appreciate you coming in on such short notice. Besides, the customers really miss your cooking, Your Highness.”

 

Regina scoffed at the use of the old nickname. Ruby called her Your Highness based on her background, upbringing and Regina supposed, she did act a little formal every now and then. She was thankful that maybe a slight and occasional air of propriety was the only thing she may have gotten from her mother, though she tried never to be snobby. She knew what it was like to be wealthy and poor, comfortable and scared. Thank goodness, also, that Ruby was the only one to call her Your Highness.

 

Regina pulled an order ticket off the rotating service wheel and read the dish to be cooked. She cleaned off the grill and expertly started making someone’s breakfast order. She moved with precision and skill. She loved cooking and being in a kitchen. This was her calling, not obtaining a Harvard MBA and working in the corporate world.

 

“So what _is_ going on with you and the Sheriff, if I might ask?”

 

Uh-oh. Regina didn’t ignore the question. She just wasn’t prepared to answer it.

 

“Did you and Emma do a repeat _mattress dancing_ performance of a few months ago?”

 

“Ruby…” Regina popped a couple of slices of white bread in the toaster.

 

“Did you? Did she _clean your pipes out?_ Did you guys _bump uglies?_ Did you let her _pet your kitty?”_

 

“Jesus! How many different terms for the actual act do you know?” Regina went back to plating food but was smiling at Ruby’s obvious frustration at the lack of an answer.

 

“Regina Mills, did you guys _bang_ or what?”

 

Regina handed Ruby two plates of food. “Order. Up.” But just as the long haired diner owner was about to leave and Regina grabbed another order slip, she relented, “…and it was ‘or what’, which could have led to the first thing if Henry hadn’t have interrupted us. Probably.” Regina shrugged and poured pancake batter onto the grill. “Now go tend to your customers. I’ve got work to do.”

 

“Next time just send the kid my way so you can _hit the skins_ , hot mama.” Regina rolled her eyes at that and smirked as she slapped strips of bacon on the grill. Before Ruby could exit out the swinging door backwards, she threw Regina a sincere look, “This could definitely be a good thing for you.”

 

As she flipped the pancakes, Regina was scared to hope that Ruby might be right.

 

 

[@--]

 

 

”Hey Aurora,” Emma smiled in greeting while passing the desk of the mayor’s assistant. “Is she in?” Aurora flipped her auburn locks over her shoulder as she looked closer at her computer monitor. “Yep, but she’s in a meeting right now. It should only be about another 5 minutes though, if you care to wait, Sheriff.”

 

“Yeah, okay.” Emma was about to take a seat when the mayor’s office door flew open and her best friend, the mayor stepped out dressed in a yellow pant suit hugging her thin form and her dark hair styled in its usual pixie cut.

 

“Thank you very much for your time, Mr. Hadley. I appreciate you stopping by.”

 

“Thank you, Mayor Blanchard. You’ve done wonders for this town. You have a nice afternoon.”

 

“I will. You too. Bye-bye now.” When the mayor discovered the sheriff sitting in the waiting area she rolled her eyes in relief and signaled her quickly to come into the office. The blonde scurried through the doorway and went to take her usual seat in front of the desk.

 

“Aurora, I am in a meeting. Please no calls for half an hour.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

Once Mayor Mary Margaret Blanchard closed the door, she turned her petite frame toward her best friend and leaned against it praying for reprieve from her hectic schedule. “I have meetings up the _wazoo_ today! You are a sight for sore eyes, though you would be a more welcome sight if you had a pint of Rocky Road hidden somewhere in your jacket!”

 

“That kind of day, huh?” Emma chuckled while relaxing in the chair and crossing her legs comfortably at the ankles. “The work of a mayor is never done.” She watched her friend reach into her desk drawer and pull out a plastic bottle of water and take a hearty swig of it. “Maybe you should let me smell that,” the sheriff joked, “…to make sure it’s not vodka or anything.”

 

Mary Margaret guffawed with wide eyes, “I wish!” She placed the water on the desk top and feigned seriousness. “You don’t have vodka on you, do you? That would be welcome also.”

 

Emma shook with laughter and placed her hands behind her head. “Oh wouldn’t the press have a field day! _Mayor and Sheriff caught drinking in the middle of the day!_ Geez.” She flinched a little at that knowing that there were some conservatives in town who would love to catch the liberal minded mayor in such a scandal. The sheriff took the time to look over at the mayor in her crisp yellow business suit which was a striking contrast to her dark hair styled in a short pixie cut.

 

They had met when Emma had moved to Storybrooke all those years ago, it seemed like a lifetime ago, she thought. She had been a rookie cop in Boston who was searching for a quieter life after her traumatic experience in the big city while on duty.  She pushed the event immediately out of her mind as she never liked talking about it. She had made a lateral move to the Storybrooke Sheriff’s department and settled into small town life with a sense of a new beginning, eventually working her way up to sheriff over time. She would forever be grateful to Storybrooke for saving her sanity. She had met Mary Margaret when she answered an ad in search of a roommate.

 

They had started off in humble beginnings, a sheriff’s deputy and a young lawyer, living in a two bedroom apartment, being each other’s support system and cheering party. They were the only family each other had. Mary Margaret’s parents had both passed on when before she was twenty and she was an only child. She worked 3 jobs to get herself through community college and then through university and with the help of grants was able to attend law school. She did everything on her own and that was always something that Emma admired about her.

 

Emma had been abandoned when she was three years old. She didn’t remember anything about her parents or her life before being thrust into the foster care system and going through her share of foster homes. It was a very tough childhood to have to go through. As a child she used to watch adults walk by and wonder if they could have been her parents. Would she even recognize her own flesh and blood?

 

“Ems?” Mary Margaret waved a hand in front of her face with an inquisitive look. “Where did you go off to?” Emma’s eyes zoomed into focus and the look she had on her face clued her friend in. “You were thinking about your childhood weren’t you?” They had talked about their pasts in length through laughs and tears and Mary Margaret was the only person in town who knew all of Emma’s history, including what brought her to Storybrooke in the first place, so there was no point in lying about it to Mary Margaret now. The woman was the only family she had.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Mary Margaret smiled sympathetically, reached into her drawer again and revealed a Kit Kat bar, placing it in front of her friend as if chocolate were the cure of all the woes of the world. Emma grinned widely in gratitude as if the candy bar was a life line.

 

“Thanks. You always know what I need.”

 

“Yeah, well, in times like these, it’s either chocolate or beer with you, and I am not _packing_ any alcohol on me,” Mary Margaret huffed and then continued under her breath, “…or I would have drunk it.”

 

“So did I miss much when I was off reminiscing about stuff I should probably forget?”

 

“Just me telling you that Kathryn Nolan is out for blood and has headed a smear campaign against me. It’s not enough that she wants my job, she wants to nail my ass to the wall!” When Emma raised her eyes, Mary Margaret corrected, “…and not at ALL in a pleasurable way.” She shook her head as if scolding Emma for her dirty mind.

 

“She has hated you for years, Mare! You two have a history.”

 

The darker short haired woman groaned, “We worked together in the same law firm, the only two women. I suppose it was understandable that she saw me as competition when I was hoping she could be an ally.”

 

“That’s the thing with you though. You are so kind and always trying to see the good in others. Isn’t that a trait not commonly found in lawyers?” Emma’s smirk tipped the mayor off that it was a joke, but her friend remained serious.

 

“We are exact opposites. I’m liberal, she’s conservative. I’m short, she’s tall. I’m dark haired, she’s blonde. I’m more _cutesy_ Keebler elf and she’s sexy, svelte…”

 

“Oh come on, you are… sexy.” Emma laughed. “In an entirely cute sort of way.”

 

They were both chuckling.  


“See?!”

 

“Well we know one person who thinks you are sexy.”

 

“Stop… seriously.”

 

“I am being serious. You don’t see the way he looks at you during the high school football games?”

 

“Why do I even go to those? I don’t even understand what is going on,” Mary Margaret bawled.

 

“You’re the mayor. Town unity! You have to be there to cheer our Storybrooke Knights to victory!!” Emma did her best cheerleader impression while sitting. She’d never been a cheerleader; made out with a few, sure. “Besides… _HE_ likes to see you there.”

 

Mary Margaret stared at her, knowing who she was talking about, blushed and then responded with, “You are so full of crap.”

 

“Shut up, you know he’s into you.” Emma crossed her arms in front of her and continued to tease, “Vice Principal David Nolan, Storybrooke High’s very own golden prince. He was captain of the football team back in his day, so we hear, and took the team all way to the State Championships. The guy is a god in this town.”

 

“And Kathryn’s ex-husband. No wonder she hates my guts.”

 

”I am sure she could care less about you and David.” Emma took another big bite of the candy and leaned forward and pointed it at Mary Margaret for emphasis. “Especially if the rumors are true that she has been having an affair with the Principal. Poor David. Your wife, sleeping with your boss, ending your marriage?”

 

That one word seemed to snap the mayor’s attention and she narrowed her eyes at Emma closely. “By the way, speaking of marriage. What is this I hear about you getting hitched to a rather attractive single parent chef in town?” When her best friend ducked her head and nibbled on the edge of the candy bar pensively, Mary Margaret snapped her fingers and squeaked. “I knew it! Okay, spill! I thought Regina was giving you the cold shoulder after your _hot afternoon of lovin’.”_

“How did you find out about the marriage?”

 

“Certainly not from my _best friend._ Ems…”

 

“For the record, I was going to fill you in today. I’ve barely had time to wrap my head around it.”

 

Mary Margaret nodded jokingly, “Uh-huh…” She smiled forgivingly because she was never truly hurt. She and Emma had been through too much together to let little things upset their friendship. She leaned forward and explained, “To answer your question, I was accosted by what appeared, at first, to be a nice friendly red-haired lady, waiting outside my office when I came in this morning. She had such a fake smile on her face, I had a feeling she was pure evil before a word came out of her mouth.”

 

“That’s Regina’s mom and she is a harpy from hell.”

 

“Yeah, I got that from her introduction. She also had some questions about you… and Regina.”

 

Emma grunted and wondered if she could kick Cora Mills out of town. She wished the woman would break a law, so she had reason to arrest her, but with that kind of power and wealth, she probably couldn’t keep her behind bars for long. She was sorely tempted to seek Cora out and caution her seriously about not upsetting Regina any more than the woman already has. How much authority could she lay down in warning?

 

“Uh-oh…” An apprehensive look crossed her friend’s soft features. “Emma, what are you thinking about doing?”

 

“What? Why? What?”

 

“You’ve got that _Emma-Swan-is-going-to-slay-a-dragon_ look.”

 

Emma smirked and rose out of her chair. “I’ve got to go.”

 

“Where? Emma! What are you going to do?”

 

“I’m going dragon hunting,” the sheriff wiggled her eyebrows and then more humorlessly stated, “I will not let her manipulate and hurt Regina or her son. Never again.”

 

With pursed lips, the mayor volunteered, “If you need my help, you know where to find me.” That grabbed the sheriff’s attention before she reached the door.

 

“Mare, maybe as Mayor, you shouldn’t get involved.”

 

“Screw that,” Mary Margaret waved off. “You’re my family. If you need me, I’m there. I can find another job. I can’t find another Emma.”

 

A look of understanding and sisterly love passed between the two women.

 

“Oh… by the way... Can you officiate the wedding?”

 

“Did you really have to ask? Of course.”

 

“Mare, you are the BEST.” Emma twisted the door knob and stepped halfway out. “Call Nolan.”

 

“And say what?”

 

“That you want to do a little _‘boot-knocking’_ with him.” Emma bit down a laugh and closed the door at Mary Margaret’s shocked, mouth hanging open look. As soon as she closed the door she heard and felt a thud on the back of it. She suspected it was a half-filled plastic water bottle.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked the idea of Regina and Ruby being best friends. I also enjoyed writing Emma and Mary Margaret as best friends.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new visitor comes to Storybrooke. Regina and Granny have a brief heart to heart.

The old yet pristine turquoise and white ’57 Chevy convertible pulled into a parking lot in front of a group of young teenagers, who could not help but stare out in wonder at a car that was older than their parents. The woman that surfaced from behind the steering wheel was even more captivating with her unruly mane of red curls and her steel blue eyes. She was dressed in a long flowing white skirt with a tight salmon colored scoop neck shirt, covered by a denim vest.

 

“Hey kids,” she addressed the group of two boys and two girls, all who seemed to be rather nice looking. Of course she knew you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. She was living proof of that. “Can you tell me where I might find Red’s Diner? I’m also looking for a hotel in town.”

 

One of the boys answered first: a pleasant looking young man who seemed to be 13 or 14 years of age, brown hair falling into his eyes that were kind and trustworthy. “Red’s is just down the block. We don’t really have a hotel in town. The closest one is in Meadowville, which is about 40 minutes out of town. We have Granny’s Bed & Breakfast which is next door to Red’s.”

 

“You’re not from around here, are you?” This came from the taller girl of the group, with curly dirty blonde hair pulled back behind her ears. She had suspicious eyes. She was one who did not trust easily and the woman found herself feeling sympathetic for this teenage girl who must have had a rough past or at least have seen things that young girls her age should not have had to deal with.

 

“No. I’m new in town.” Just then a black cat jumped from the back seat and out of the car, stretching its limbs and shaking its head. Then it looked up at the woman and meowed. “Oh very well. But don’t wander too far. I may not take long.” The group of teens looked at each other in puzzlement. “And stay out of trouble.”

 

“Dude,” she heard the other boy’s hushed tones, “I think she’s talking to her cat.”

 

She smiled at them brightly. She was used to the odd stares. “Her name is Leona and she loves to be spoken to,” and then she gave them a look, “but NOT spoken at or ordered around. She does have her pride after all. And she hates being called a pet.”

 

The redhead spied them all looking at each other mysteriously and she couldn’t help the delightful peal of laughter erupting from deep within her. “You are all so wonderfully sweet. No worries. I assure you, I am not crazy,” and then as an afterthought added, “or wicked.” The first boy who spoke seemed taken aback at that. He seemed to look her over then and while she studied him back she felt a slight tremor in her system as if there was something about him she should be paying close attention to. If anything, one thing she was very good at was listening to her senses. They had never steered her wrong before and her loving parents had always taught her to trust her instincts and listen to the world all around her, especially to things she could not initially see. “When Leona does come back and if you are still here, would you all just look after her for me? Though she may not like the title of ‘pet’, she adores being petted and touched. She loves attention.”

 

They all nodded and she was just about to step away when the young fresh faced blonde girl with her golden locks pushed back in a ponytail spoke up for the first time. This girl was different than the first one. Her innocence and easy nature radiated off of her and she asked in a more friendly tone, “Hey lady,” then she may have thought that was a little rude and continued, “…um…what’s your name?”

 

She got a smile for her curiosity and the woman engaged them all with, “I am Zelena. Zelena Cromwell.”

 

The girl smiled back to her, “I’m Paige.” Her smile faded when she looked at the other girl who gave her an incredulous look. “Err… I mean. Well…” then she pointed to the boy who had given her information about the diner and the B&B, the boy whom Zelena was picking up mystic vibrations about. “When you get to Granny’s, you should tell them that Henry sent you. You may get a discount on a room.” _Henry._

 

The boy looked at her then, smiled and nodded. “Maybe. No promises.”

 

“Thank you, Henry. Paige.” She gave the other two an expectant glance, waiting for their names. The other boy offered her a charming nod of male interest that Zelena found amusing and funny. “I’m Nick.” Ah, puberty. She swallowed her laugh to keep from hurting his feelings. The young boy was obviously trying to explore and experiment with what worked for him and what didn’t, as well as he should. Zelena remembered her teenage years with fondness. The girl with the suspicious eyes stubbornly crossed her arms and gave her friends a dirty look. This one was going to be tough to crack. “This is my sister, Ava. She is the grump of the group.” That earned him a shove from his sister.

 

“Sister? Older, I presume.” She smiled at Ava again. The girl finally relented to talk more freely with a sigh.

 

“Well we’re twins, but yeah, I’m older.”

 

“By like 2 and a half minutes or some shit like that.” Nick protested. Bad language never bothered Zelena unless it was directed at another person negatively.

 

“Well thank you very much, Paige, Henry, Nick and Ava. I appreciate your help!” With that she walked cheerfully down the block feeling really good about this new chapter of her life she was embarking on.

 

[@--]

 

Regina took the stairs down rather quickly from the rooms that were above the Red’s Diner that made up Granny’s Bed & Breakfast. She was checking on Granny before ending her shift. She had brought the woman up some coffee and a pastry and had spent 20 minutes sitting with the woman talking.

 

_“I am so glad that piranha never looked for boarding here. I would have kicked her caboose right out of here so fast it would have made her head swim.” She held up a hand and added, “I know she’s your mother, bless your soul, but after all the things you told me and with all that nonsense of demanding that you and Henry move to Boston, karma is going to hit that woman like an express bus after work on a Friday.”_

_Regina smiled. Granny always had a way of saying things. She was sitting in her comfortable arm chair by the window, watching the Ellen Degeneres show on TV with her leg up. Even with a broken limb, the woman had an unstoppable spirit._

_“Hopefully she will realize that Henry and I are not going anywhere and get bored and leave soon. I am sure she would much rather be in Milan or Monaco than in a small town like Storybrooke.”_

_“All I can say is she better leave before my leg heals up! Or I will personally go over to that fancy vacation cabin she’s renting out by the ocean and give her a piece of my mind.”_

_Regina bent over and kissed the top of her head, “Now Granny, don’t let her upset you. Believe me, it’s not worth it. She feeds off misery.” Regina was saddened by the truth of that statement._

_Granny grasped Regina’s hand in her own. “You know you and Henry are family, Regina. Don’t ever, EVER forget that.”_

_“We will always remember.” The brunette started to back away when the older woman reminded, “And just be sure you let us know when that wedding is.” Regina stopped and cringed a little. “What? This is a happy occasion and long overdue if you ask me.” The white haired woman pointed with a smile and a squint, “You and that sheriff have been all googley-eyed over one another for years now. It’s about time you two wizened up and admitted it.”_

_“Pardon me, but I do NOT get googley-eyed.” Regina used her best queen sounding tone of voice, the same she often used when she was pushed uncomfortably to face her emotions._

_“You’re pardoned, and you surely do, Regina Mills. Admit it, you’ve been sweet on Emma for a long time now.” Regina could argue the fact but Granny knew her all too well._

_“Okay, fine, yes. I admit that I have had feelings for Emma for a long time now. But marriage Granny?” Regina looked downcast and murmured, “I don’t want Emma marrying me out of a sense of obligation for something she promised Henry.”_

_“Child, if you think Emma Swan is marrying you for any other reason than because she loves you, I have got a rusty cross bow with rubber arrows I can sell you.”_

_Yet another Granny-ism to confuse the masses, Regina mused. She and Ruby had a little notebook full of them. Regina blinked and frowned at the woman. “What does that even mean?!”_

_“You listen to me, Regina. Love is precious. It’s a gift. When you find it, you grab onto it and you hold on tight. Do you hear me?” Regina nodded in answer. “And that blonde has the moon and stars in her eyes every time she looks at you. She loves you. Don’t doubt that.” With that Granny, turned and took a sip of her coffee. Now leave me be to watch Ellen, my_ second _favorite lesbian in the world.” She turned and winked at Regina suggestively indicating that the brunette was her first. She literally loved this woman and wished many times over that her mother could have been more like Granny. Maybe she wouldn’t have been so emotionally scarred._

 

She was still shaking her head at the woman when she reached the bottom step into the lobby of the bed and breakfast, because Granny’s little apartment was closer to it, when she was pulled suddenly and pushed up against a wall. The next thing she knew she was being kissed enthusiastically by Emma Swan. Upon discovering who her assailant really was she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around the sheriff’s neck and kissed her back with equal fervency. Their kisses lit her on fire and she chastised herself again for spending the last two months trying to avoid the woman.

 

“Wow!” Emma’s mouth moved to her neck and she chuckled sending pleasant vibrations through Regina’s body. “If you’re going to kiss me like that, I’m going to have to sneak up on you more often.”

 

“Well if sneaking up on me like that is going to lead to those kinds of kisses, I’m going to make sure I leave myself available for being snuck up on.” She caressed the nape of the blonde’s neck as their noses touched in Eskimo style. “What are you doing sneaking up on me anyway?”

 

“I just wanted to see how my fiancée was doing.” Emma noticed the flinch before Regina could even think to try and hold it back. But before it could be addressed the bell over the door rang and the kissing couple were startled by a cheery, “Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt.”

 

She and Emma separated only slightly and faced a pleasant looking woman with fiery red hair and a bohemian sense of style that seemed very out of the ordinary for Storybrooke, Maine. There was something reassuring about her though and Regina could tell that she was friendly right off the bat.

 

“Is there someone at the front desk? I’d like to inquire about a room.”

 

“I’ll be happy to help you,” Regina said quickly moving from Emma’s embrace. Regina and Ruby had both worked behind the front desk many times in the past, so checking new guests in was second nature to her.

 

The three women walked over to the front desk and while Regina walked behind it, she heard Emma ask, “You’re new in town. Are you just passing through?” Spoken like a nosey Sheriff taking care of her town, the brunette thought. If the redhead was offended she certainly did not show it and remained good natured and forthcoming.

 

“You would be right. I am new in town, but perhaps thinking I might stay a while.”

 

“Don’t mind Emma,” Regina stated giving her fiancée, _fiancée hah,_ a knowing look. “She doesn’t look like it today, but she’s the Sheriff of Storybrooke. Emma smiled at the redhead and moved the side of her leather jacket aside to reveal her badge.

 

“Ahhhh…” the new visitor noted and smiled widely then offering her hand. “Well then Sheriff, I think an introduction is in order. I’m Zelena Cromwell.”

 

“Sheriff Emma Swan.”

 

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sheriff.”

 

“Ms. Cromwell, please if you can fill this form out for me we can get started.” Regina slid a piece of paper across the counter with a pen.

 

The check in process took about 10 minutes and while they were handling the payment part, Zelena snapped her fingers. “Oh I almost forgot. I was supposed to tell you that Henry sent me.” Regina whipped her head up and she had a light hearted and affectionate smile on her face.

 

“Oh he _did,_ did he?”

 

Emma was chuckling and Zelena nodded emphatically. “Yes. He was most helpful. A very sweet young man with very kind eyes.”

 

Regina was entering the information onto the computer and absently said, “Thank you.” At Zelena’s inquisitive brow movement, Regina said, “He’s my son.”

 

Zelena’s eyes sparkled delightfully. “Excellent! You have done a magnificent job with him.” Yes, Regina decided that she liked this woman.

 

“Thank you very much. Your room is right up the stairs and down the hall. The room number is on the key.”

 

“Fantastic! Seven is my lucky number!” As Zelena took her key she halted and grinned at the woman who was so helpful. She and her son seemed to share that wonderful trait. Thank you, Miss…?”

 

“Oh… Mills, Regina Mills.” There was a brief flash of recognition that was lost on Regina but registered with the sheriff. Zelena’s smile did not falter but her eyes changed as if Regina’s name held some meaning.

 

“It is absolutely wonderful to make your acquaintance, Regina. I hope we run into each other again.” That also had alert bells ringing in Emma’s head. Though she had not sensed threat in the new visitor, there was something more to her presence in their little town and how she had reacted to learning Regina’s name. It cautioned her to keep an eye on this Zelena Cromwell.

 

“In Storybrooke, I’m sure we will most definitely run into one another.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I missed Zelena and Rebecca Mader's face in my story so I put her in and thought I would write her a little differently. What's she doing in Storybrooke? Hmmm... I enjoyed writing the first part with the kids. I've discovered I really enjoy writing Henry, Paige, Ava and Nick.
> 
> And some Swan Queen goodness thrown in.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Emma finally have some intimate alone time together. Henry has a brief conversation with Cora.

Emma stood on the stoop with a dozen doughnuts and a cardboard carrier with three cups: two were filled with strong black coffee and the third with creamy hot cocoa, with a sprinkle of cinnamon atop the whip cream, just the way she knew Henry liked it. Spying her phone, she saw that it was a little after nine in the morning, a safe time to visit, so she knocked on the door. Henry opened it immediately, fully dressed.

 

“Hey Emma. Come on in.” He left her at the door and retreated inside in a hurry. “Mom’s still sleeping.” He placed his backpack by the door.

 

“Where are you off too? It’s the weekend. Shouldn’t you be sleeping in too?”

 

“Who would have let _you_ in otherwise,” he wisecracked and chuckled as she extended her leg out and pretended to kick him. He was a good kid. “I’m meeting Nick, Ava and Paige down at the half pipe near the skate park. Gotta practice my 360. Mom knows.”

 

“No other mischief, I hope.” Emma beamed at him, half joking. She was still the sheriff. They were good kids but she knew how playfully troublesome teens could be, having been one herself at Henry’s age.

 

“Do you not trust your future stepson?” He held his arms out with an overly innocent grin. “Are those doughnuts?”

 

“Yep. And hot chocolate.” They walked into the kitchen and she set the items on the counter. She watched the teen walk to a drawer and pull out a big freezer bag. Leaning against the counter, she watched him with amusement as he began to fill it.

 

“Bringing me doughnuts… and hot chocolate,” he straightened all of a sudden, “…with cinnamon?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Classic! You’ve only been engaged to my mom less than a week and I’ve already got my new stepmother trained.” Emma knew he was joking so she smiled and shook her head watching him ziplock the bag with half the doughnuts that were in the box. Then, he took the take-away cup of hot chocolate, sipped it and leaned on the other counter, considering Emma. “You _do_ want to marry my mom, right?”

 

Emma regarded him calmly, contemplating how to proceed and then just decided on the truth. “Henry, I want to be with your mom. I love her. I don’t need to be married to her, because a marriage certificate wouldn’t make a difference to me. I’d still feel the same way about her… and about you.”

 

His lips quirked up and he nodded and then seriousness took over. “I just don’t want her to get hurt.”

 

“Neither do I.”

 

He smiled and looked at his Converses, one of the tips toeing the floor. “I’ll be gone all day. I’m guessing you’ve got the day off. Mom’s got the day off…”

 

“Whoa, whoa…” Emma chuckled. “Are you _pimping_ your mom out to me?”

 

He shrugged, then laughed back, leaning off the counter and headed for the door. “Just sayin’. And I won’t tell mom you called me a ‘pimp’.” She really, _really_ liked this kid. She followed him to the door where he zipped the food up in his bag and grabbed his skater helmet off the shelf. “Thanks for the hot chocolate and doughnuts, Emma.”

 

“No problem. Actually _wear_ the helmet, kid.”

 

“Yeah, yeah…” He was out the door and said, “Tell mom, I’ll be home for dinner. Later.” He grabbed the BMX bike that was leaning against the side of the house, walked it off the porch and rode onto the street holding his cup in one hand and the handlebar with the other.

 

She closed the door and wondered what to do next. Curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself standing outside Regina’s slightly ajar bedroom door. With a hesitant finger, she pushed the door open slowly and it swung open revealing Regina’s sleeping form with the comforter tucked under her arm and the irresistible bed owner breathing steadily. She leaned against the door jamb with her arms crossed, lovingly observing the gorgeous woman sleeping so soundly.

 

Making her way across the room, she stood beside Regina’s sleeping form and started gently brushing the dark hair at her temples. Her sleeper stirred at that and turned onto her back, her eyes fluttering open and focusing on Emma.

 

“Hi,” Emma’s dimpled smile greeted as her fingers caressed the brunette’s cheek.

 

“Am I dreaming?” The older woman squinted up at her.

 

“No,” came the blonde’s chuckle.

 

“You’re really here?” The sheriff nodded at her question and then bent to press a kiss to her lips. “Did we… with bananas and peanut butter?”

 

Emma chuckled at that intriguingly. “Now _that_ was a dream.” Regina was so amazing. _Bananas and peanut butter._ “One that I think I’d very much like to discuss with you. You know I _love_ peanut butter.” She was kissing Regina’s blushing neck and the older woman cupped the back of her head and guided Emma lips to hers for a kiss.

 

Within minutes Emma was straddling Regina still under the covers. “Henry…?”

 

“Gone… be back for dinner.”

 

“Mmmmm…” Emma felt Regina’s fingers start to unbutton her blouse.

 

“What? Really?” The blonde was so excited that she was being undressed by this woman, whom she had spent every night longing for since the last time they were together.

 

“I want you, Emma.” The brunette discarded Emma’s blouse and leather jacket and cupped her breasts through the thin cotton of her white tank top. Emma gasped at the contact and Regina murmured against already kiss-swollen lips, “I have wasted far too much time running and hiding. I have two months to make up for, Sheriff.” She quickly pulled the white tank off with one swoop, and to Emma’s surprise, quickly rid herself of the t-shirt she had slept in and then brought them flush against one another, treasuring the feel of their soft breasts teasing one another.

 

“Regina,” Emma moaned as she kissed down the woman’s neck and torso. When she reached the soft skin between the older woman’s breasts she cupped both mounds and pushed them closer together to share the attention of her hot eager tongue, which caused Regina to whimper and plunge her fingers into the blonde’s tresses.

 

“Suck them, Emma, _please…”_ Regina stretched out, bending her back to thrust herself more into the younger woman’s mouth. Emma had not forgotten how hot Regina had been the first time and to hear her vocalize how she wanted to be pleased made the sheriff groan lustfully. “God, yes… Oh… Emma, harder.”

 

Emma fondled Regina’s breasts exactly how the woman wanted, and the brunette started bucking and panting underneath her. She released the beaded tip with a loud suck and moved up hungrily to claim Regina’s soft mouth again.

 

“You are so sexy. I have missed you so much.”

 

Regina palmed her cheek, “Me too…” she brought their lips closer together and traced the blonde’s lips with her tongue. When Emma slanted her head and sucked Regina’s tongue into her mouth, the brunette went crazy with need and used all her strength to turn them over so she was on top. It was her turn to lick and tug on Emma’s nipples before slowly moving down her body and kissing the woman’s toned abdomen and tonguing her navel while unbuckling the leather belt. Emma was making audible breathy sounds along with Regina’s name and massaging her scalp. The sheriff remembered how surprising and talented that tongue had turned out to be. Her jeans and underwear were being pulled roughly down her legs until she heard a loud curse.

 

She tilted her head up and found Regina staring at the boots she was wearing over her jeans. “Seriously?” The brunette pivoted on her knees and the next thing Emma knew she was staring at a thin beige scrap of nylon covering Regina’s behind that left absolutely nothing to the imagination and she groaned loudly as Regina was tugging at her bootlaces. “Next time leave these damn clod-hoppers at the door, Emma.” She threw Emma a saucy grin over her shoulder that was so suggestive Emma’s eyes rolled back in her head, “…then we can save time.”

 

After divesting the sheriff of her boots, Regina turned and looked down at the gorgeous body being offered to her; sleek and tight, yet soft and pliant in all the right places. Emma watched as the face of the woman kneeling before her changed to display different emotions: awe, admiration, possessiveness and, by the time their eyes met, an emotion she knew Regina may not be ready to voice yet, but that thrilled Emma to her very core, because it had been what she was feeling for the woman for, well, a lot longer than she could remember.

 

“I like the way you look at me.”

 

“Well, I like the way you look.” Regina answered, running her hands up and down Emma’s thighs in anticipation.

 

“Well, I like the way you like the way I look.” Emma returned and the corner of the brunette’s mouth twitched up and she gave a small short chuckle.

 

“Shut up.”

 

The Sheriff sat up and embraced her and Regina’s arms wrapped around her neck and shoulders. “Make me, Regina.”

 

“With pleasure.” The kiss Regina gave her then was so hot it could have set the whole bedroom on fire. Emma’s hands roamed from her waist to massage her breasts, thumbs coaxing nipples into hardness again, her mouth swallowing the other woman’s sighs. Regina’s nails lightly raked up Emma’s back causing the blonde to gasp and then suck greedily on the brunette’s tongue and lips. “Emma,” Regina whispered between kisses, “…lie back.”

 

“Mm…come with me.”

 

“Oh, I’m _coming_ with you.”

 

Emma snickered into her mouth as they parted and Regina pushed her back by her shoulders. “I remember what a surprisingly naughty mouth you have. Bet that’s something else old Cora doesn’t know.” Regina gave her a stern look while rolling her sock off of one foot.

 

“Are you seriously bringing up my mother while we’re having sex?” She chucked the discarded sock over her shoulder and did the same with the other foot. “Do you WANT to ruin the mood?” She gave Emma that raised eyebrow look she loved so much. The blonde brought a hand down across her belly and parted her own folds to touch herself, catching Regina’s rapt attention.

 

“Awww, did I ruin the mood?” She watched as Regina’s eyes darkened at how wet she already was as she rubbed herself with two fingers.

 

“Oh my _God_ , Emma…” Regina was captivated by her actions and Emma became more aroused with the attention that she masturbated in earnest now. The brunette lifted her foot and placed kisses on her arch while her eyes still remained glued to the blonde’s hand and then her lips moved up the side of her calf. Emma placed two fingers inside herself, plunging in and out; the sounds of the act combined with the moans she heard from Regina as the woman settled between her legs to watch more closely had her very close to the edge. “Emma, you smell so good.” She kissed the inside of her thighs. “I want to taste you, please?”

 

The blonde was thumbing her engorged nub while penetrating herself, but she pulled the two fingers out and Regina instantly sucked them into her mouth. “Christ, Regina. You’re going to make me come.”

 

The brunette released the two fingers she was devotedly licking and sucking. “Am I?” She smiled into Emma’s folds. “Then, I’d better not be half-assed about it.” She moved the thumb out of the way and whole-heartedly licked and sucked at Emma’s sex hungrily.

 

_“Oh YES, Regina!”_

The older woman dove her arms underneath Emma propping her thighs over her shoulders, one hand on the blonde’s mound keeping her parted while her other hand slid up to knead Emma’s breast. The sheriff’s hands fisted in the sheets beside her as her hips began jerking, riding the other woman’s face. Their eyes connected and Regina’s intense stare pushed Emma over the edge, tumbling into a dazzling dizzying climax with her back bowing and eyes tightly shutting. Regina was persistent and when Emma, wildly sensitive, could not take any more, she sat up and grabbed the brunette, kissing her and reveling in the taste and wetness of herself on the woman’s lips.

 

“Mmm…” Regina smiled between kisses and fell back with Emma on the bed, “I love when you do that.”

 

“What? Come?” Emma chuckled, turning them so Regina was on her back with her lying beside her taking in the view. Regina’s dusky taut nipples seemed to be begging for attention so Emma lowered her head and circled one with the tip of her tongue, and then she sucked it hard while bringing her hand to the older woman’s center where she felt the damp nylon, pulling a frustrated groan from her. She wanted her mouth to be in two or three different places at the same time.

 

“I like watching you climax, Emma. The way you sound, and look.” Regina brought her face up for a kiss.

 

“You know what I like seeing?” Emma asked smiling down at her and then down her body, “The way my hand looks inside your underwear.” Regina gasped as she felt the blonde’s fingers slip along her slick heat and stoke her thoroughly. Emma saw her glance down at the movement of her hand beneath the wet nylon and the brunette’s head fell back to the pillow.

 

“Oh God! Me too.” Regina nodded. Pleased, Emma kissed her chin and then her chest on her way back to the woman’s breasts. “Emma, take them off.”

 

The blonde feigned a look of horror at such a request. “What? No! Let’s have some fun _with_ it first.” On her knees she kissed down Regina’s body until she was hovering over the woman’s pelvic area. “These are a very nice pair of panties. Nylon and lace. Not at all like my simple cotton 6-pack ones.”

 

“I will admit to being a bit of a panty snob. If you catch me in a pair of Fruit of the Looms, you can be fairly certain that Hell has probably frozen over.”

 

“How lucky for me.” Emma kissed her center basking in the feel and scent of the thrilling woman underneath her. Her tongue came out to glide over the smooth wet nylon and she felt Regina’s hand opening and fisting on her back to keep from scratching at her.

 

“Please…” Regina begged softly. Emma glanced back and groaned at the sight of Regina licking her lips and tugging at her own nipple. The blonde blew out a breath fighting for control. She slipped a finger into the leg opening and started to finger her clit slowly again while she ran the tip of her tongue along the waistband. “God Emma, don’t tease me...” But Emma did precisely that as she took her hand back and bunched the middle into a bundled strip and wedged it between the woman’s wet folds insistently rubbing it against her throbbing bundle of nerves. It was such a bewitching sight and with each tug, Regina cried out swearing, which was unusual for the single mom. “For _fuck’s sake,_ Emma, I need you…” The blonde kissed and sucked at her exposed outer lips as she utilized the woman’s panties to get her off. Regina’s hips were rolling looking for relief. She did scratch the Sheriff’s back then, though not too painfully. “Do you know how often I have used my fingers on myself to thoughts of your mouth on me over these last few months?”

 

That did it. Emma was frantically pushing the scrap of nylon over the woman’s curvy hips and knees where Regina took over using her feet to push and kick them across the room. Emma knelt closely over spread legs, slipped her hands under the brunette’s bottom and held her open for her mouth and tongue to get reacquainted with the velvety folds she had been dreaming about for so long. Loving the feel and taste of the woman beneath, she worshipped her by tonguing and fingering insistently at her slick opening, the whole while riveted by the pants, moans and movements that her actions were creating.

 

“Emma… yes…oh GOD, yes… right THERE!” A finger probed into her easily and then another was added and she felt Regina jolt loudly, panting with each thrust. Emma’s mouth closed over her swollen nub and she moaned and the vibration shot Regina into the beginnings of her climax. “EMMA!   I’m coming.” The cry was music to the blonde’s ears and she thrust harder and faster into Regina’s tight channel. _“UUUHHNNN!!!”_

Regina practically screamed while her body bucked and trembled. She tried to pull away but when the blonde only held on tighter, her thighs clamped shut on the woman’s head and she was swearing in complete ecstasy. “Emma, stop… _stop!”_

 

Emma released her clit but kept her fingers inside watching Regina ride them slowly for as long as her tremors lasted. Emma kissed her thighs and when Regina’s body was sated, lying limply, Emma spread her legs again and slowly withdrew her fingers marveling at how soaked they were. She divided her time by licking and sucking her fingers clean and placing soft kissed over Regina’s slit, while the woman could be heard trying to catch her breath.

After several minutes of lying there, breathing, surrounded in the glow of their lovemaking, Regina was the first to speak. “I think I’m dead.” Emma giggled with her head pillowed on Regina’s thighs, fingers playing with Regina’s soft curls. When she said nothing further, Regina shook her thigh, “Hey…”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

Regina smiled, “Come here and kiss me.” She gasped at Emma pressing one final kiss over her sex before she crawled up to the brunette and stretched out beside her, propping herself on an elbow, head in hand. Then, she bent and kissed Regina softly and sweetly.

 

“Just so you know... that’s happening again… soon…” Emma ran her knuckles lovingly over her cheek and then ran those knuckles over a nipple, which hardened and tightened. Her green eyes bored into Regina’s, “…and then soon again after that.” She buried her face in the brunette’s neck and breathed her in before lightly sucking at her soft skin.

 

She heard the smile in Regina’s voice and the slight nod of her head that told her the woman was gladly in agreement. “Anything you say, Sheriff Swan.” Regina palmed the blonde’s breast and then ran her hand down Emma’s arm. “Who am I to argue with the sexy town sheriff? I wouldn’t want her handcuffing me to the bed.”

 

“Why does the way you say it make me think that you _want_ to be handcuffed to the bed?” Regina laughed heartily and it was just as sexy as her moans of delight were. There was a sparkle in her brown eyes. She was enchanting and Emma couldn’t help but express her adoration by saying, “I think _you_ are going to be the death of _me,”_ and then she came down on top of the brunette and silenced her with several searing open mouth kisses.

 

“Emma…” Regina breathed. “I’m hungry…”

 

The blonde lifted Regina’s thigh up and over her hip and then cupping her bottom. “Oh, me too, Regina… _me too!”_

 

The brunette laughed and pushed at her shoulder and then cradling her face in her hands, pointedly said, “No, I’m _really_ hungry.”

 

“Oh…” Emma’s lips broke into a silly grin and then she remembered, “Oh! I brought doughnuts and what is sure to now be cold coffee.”

 

“Doughnuts?” The woman rolled her eyes at the blonde and continued, “Still as healthy as always.” She wrapped her arms around Emma’s neck and brought her close. “And how many of them were chocolate glazed?”

 

“Four,” Emma looked at her sheepishly, “…but Henry took them all, I think. He took like half the box.”

 

“Great…” Regina chuckled, “Feeding my son chocolate and sugar for breakfast. Do you know how hard it was for me to even get him to eat wheat toast?”

 

“I’ll eat wheat toast for you…” This remark was accompanied by light kisses between them.

 

“With peanut butter, I bet, right?”

 

“What? No!” Emma feigned offense. “Peanut butter is meant to be eaten straight from the jar with a butter knife.” Regina shook her head and chuckled.

 

“For you, I’d eat wheat toast… with some Nutella on it.”

 

“I am making you a spinach and gouda cheese omelet.” And then for good measure Regina pulled Emma’s head back lightly and painlessly by her hair. “… and we’re using the whites of the eggs only and there’s going to be more spinach than cheese.”

 

“Ugh! You _will_ be the death of me!”

 

“No, I’m going to keep you alive and healthy for a _long_ time.” Then she gazed meaningfully at Emma, making her heart swell when she added, “I want to keep you around for as long as possible.”

 

They smiled at each other, “I’m not going anywhere, Regina. That, I promise you.”

 

 

[@--]

 

 

“Henry, dear.” He heard as he and his friends were leaving the comic book store. Upon turning around, he saw his grandmother walking briskly down the sidewalk, flawlessly dressed in a crisp dark olive suit, a heavy looking onyx neckless at her throat and her bright red hair styled up in a bun.

 

His friends turned around to study the woman coming toward him. She gave them all a toothy grin and Henry was immediately distrustful. “What do _you_ want?”

 

She stopped cold and looked down her nose at him. “Is that any way to greet someone?” The eyes of Ava and Nick darted back and forth between their friend and this woman who disrupted their walk to the pizza place down the street. Paige eyed the older woman with wide eyes that looked just the tiniest bit fearful.

 

After a stare down, Henry relented finally so they could just get this over with and be on their way. “Hello.”

 

“Hello who?” She asked primly and then gestured to surrounding objects, “Hello, door? Hello, parking meter? Hello, car?”

 

He gritted his teeth and forced his eyes not to roll. Did his mom really have to grow up around this woman? “Hello, Grandma.”

 

“Grand _mother_ ,” she corrected with a huff. “I deplore the other word. It sounds so barbaric and informal.”

 

Paige and Ava shared a look of bewilderment while Nick frowned equally baffled. Cora seemed to realize that there were others present so she addressed them, “Excuse me, children, but I must have a word with my grandson.” They looked from Cora to Henry in trepidation.

 

“It’s okay guys. I’ll meet you there.”

 

“You’re sure,” Nick asked giving Cora the once over.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Yes, I assure you he’ll be fine, now run along, children. Shoo!” Cora waved at them impatiently with two hands.

 

Henry heard Ava grumble to the other two. “Did she seriously just SHOO us? I’ve got a SHOE for her right here…” and she made a slight kicking motion. He held back a snicker. He knew how protective Ava was of all of them, even though she was a bit rough around the edges and sarcastic about it most times.   Henry could not blame her for it though considering all she had been through with her mom’s illness and then stepping in to take care of her dad and brother when everything had come crashing down around them after her mom’s death.

 

“Henry, I am looking for your mother. I have tried to phone her but she is not taking my calls.” _I wonder why?_ Henry was sure his mother was no more excited to hear from Cora than he was right now.

 

“She’s with Emma.” That brought a disdainful expression to his grandmother’s face that pleased him. Another reason to like Emma, because it seemed to rankle the woman so. “They like to spend their days together, you know… since they are _engaged_ and _getting married to each other.”_

“Yes, well that remains to be seen.” She seemed to pick lint off her suit then. Henry rolled his eyes and absently gazed across the street where he saw his friends spying on them from behind a car instead of going to the restaurant. Apparently they trusted Cora even less and were watching to make sure the woman did not kidnap him or something.

 

“Oh they’re getting married. They _love_ each other.”

 

“Love...” she mocked.

 

“Yea… LOVE. They are _totally_ in love… like excited out of their _minds_ in love. They make each other feel like when you execute the perfect 180 to a double peg grind.”

 

His grandmother blinked at him as if he were speaking another language, which Henry thought that BMX trick talk probably was to her.

 

“Love is weakness, dear. You’ll do well to remember that.” She slipped her expensive sunglasses on. “In any case…when you see your mother, inform her that I wish to speak with her urgently.” He watched as she stalked off in the other direction without so much as a goodbye.

 

He heard his friends’ running footsteps as they raced toward him from their hiding place.

 

“Are you okay, Henry?” Paige’s face was full of concern.

 

“Dude, that was your grandma? She’s a little scary. Like she could be a vampire or something.” Nick shoved his hands in his pockets.

 

“She’s not a vampire,” Ava said crossing her arms. “But she’s a mean old fart for sure. What did she say to you?”

 

“She wants to talk to my mom.”

 

“Not about moving to Boston, right?” Paige asked as the group started walking toward the pizza restaurant.

 

“I doubt she’s given up,” Ava piped in. “A woman like that looks like she normally gets her way, and if she is not getting her way, she cheats.”

 

“It’ll be fine,” Henry reassured while securing the backpack more firmly on his back. “As long as Emma marries my mom, it’s all good.” He thought of what Emma had told him this morning and he smiled feeling a little more relaxed. Emma could be trusted. She’d never let anything happen to them. He could feel it.

 

“Yeah, well, we should still keep an eye on her,” Nick suggested, opening the door for them. After they all stepped into the restaurant, Nick smiled and straightened his clothes a little self-consciously. “Speaking of people we need to keep our eyes on…” Three pairs of eyes followed the direction in which he was ogling and they saw Zelena Cromwell, heading their way with a pizza box.

 

“Down boy,” Paige joked while Henry chuckled and shook his head.

 

“Ava, do NOT embarrass me,” he ordered of his sister and combed his hair back with his fingers.

 

“Seriously?” was Ava’s reply.

 

“Hi Kids!” Zelena beamed brightly at them.

 

“Hi, Zelena,” Nick greeted, “What’s up?”

 

“Just picking up a pizza. What’s up right back?

 

“Besides my brother,” Ava whispered to Grace who snorted, both earning an evil look from Nick while Henry nudged Ava to behave.

 

“Nothing,” Nick answered and was so frazzled he repeated, “What’s up with you?” His three companions gave him an awkward look and his face reddened. If Zelena thought anything of it, she did not mention it or show it. Henry admired her for that.

 

“Henry, I met your mom and her girlfriend the other day. Your mother is a lovely, friendly woman.”

 

“Yeah, she’s really cool.”

 

“Do you have any other siblings?”

 

“No, it’s just me and mom.” Henry added, “…and Emma now…I guess.”

 

“Were you born here?”

 

“Oh no. We were originally from Boston. We moved here when I was 4.”

 

“Henry,” Ava interrupted stepping forward a little and eyeing Zelena suspiciously, “What’s with all the questions?”

 

Henry saw a startled look cross the redheaded woman’s features followed by a look of admiration for Ava. She seemed to understand that Ava deemed herself the guardian of their group.

 

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” She gave them all an apologetic smile. “Just naturally curious.” She smiled at Ava and the teenager loosened her crossed arms only slightly.

 

“So,” Ava began seeming to want to make up for her abruptness a moment before, “What kind of pizza do you like?”

 

Henry observed the scene before him. His friend could be abrasive on the outside but she was a softie on the inside. That’s why they all liked her so much; including her brother, even though they had their share of fights.

 

Zelena gave a slightly embarrassed laugh and replied, “Anchovy and jalapeño pizza. It’s my absolute favorite.”

 

“What?” Nick was horrified while the others looked at her in surprise, Ava in near shock. “That’s my sister’s favorite too. Gross.” He seemed to forget his crush on the woman to express his disgust with her taste in pizza.

 

Zelena’s blue eyes shimmered in amusement and she looked to Ava with interest. “It’s the _only_ way to eat pizza.” She genuinely smiled at Ava and the teen flicked her dirty blonde curls over her shoulder and the corner of her mouth crooked up for a second and then her guarded look returned. “Well, I must be off. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!”

 

“Bye Zelena,” they waved, all except Ava who was frowning after the woman.

 

“You are such a grump,” Nick said nudging her.

 

“And you’re a walking hormone,” she returned as Nick and Paige walked toward their favorite booth.

 

“Hey,” Henry touched her arm, “Zelena’s cool, ok?”

 

“Yeah…” Ava nodded and then they joined the other two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You could probably tell by now that I like including Henry's friends in my fanfics, huh? Paige, Nick and Ava.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Comments?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina gets the "Ruby Inquisition" about her relationship with Emma and we meet some new (old) Storybrooke Residents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha, I really got a kick out of this chapter, especially with the characters! I hope you think it funny too and that you enjoy it. I took advantage of the story being AU to bend the characters to my whim.

“I am exhausted!”

 

Ruby huffed and collapsed in one of the counter stools of her nearly empty diner. It was the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday, which, for the last month, had mysteriously become the diner’s slowest time. Regina leaned on the counter, welcoming the short break. Their only customer was sitting in a booth, reading a book; an attractive woman with bright blue eyes and reddish brown shoulder length hair hanging in a mass of curly waves framing her face. Ruby peeked over her shoulder at her. She had never seen the woman before.

 

“Yeah. Granny had mentioned to me this morning that you came home very, very late last night.” That snapped Ruby’s attention back to her friend.

 

“Was she spying on me again?”

 

“She doesn’t consider it spying. She says you live right next door to her and you stomp into your room like a six and a half foot rugby player,” Regina chuckled, refilling the salt and pepper shakers.

 

“I seriously need to get my own place.”

 

“What? And leave Granny alone? You’d rather die.”

 

Ruby smiled at that because it was true. Granny had taken her in when her parents could not take care of her; did not want to take care of her. They were the type who “needed to roam” Granny always said disapprovingly. They went from town to town like life was one big party and Granny had gotten sick of it, so when Ruby was five years old and they had visited Granny to borrow even more money, she gave them what they wanted, said it would be the last time and that she would be keeping Ruby with her. She had not seen her parents since the day they left. She had come home one day from school, three years later, to find a policeman standing in her living room over Granny and when she looked at Ruby, her eyes were moist. That was the day they discovered that her parents had died in a car crash while driving intoxicated.

 

It wasn’t until she was in her teen years that she learned that Granny had still been giving her mother money, whenever she asked, because her mom would threaten to come back and take Ruby away. The long haired brunette’s jaw clenched in bitterness and she was appalled at the thought of her mother extorting money from _her_ own mother with such a cruel ultimatum.

 

“Nah,” she said resolutely, “I’d never leave Granny alone.” She owed the woman everything, but more importantly, she loved the woman more than life itself; even though they continually got on each other’s nerves, but they were family and that’s what family did. She smiled affectionately and then looked to Regina and took her friend’s appearance in. “You’re glowing, did you know that?”

 

“What?” Regina laughed placing the salt and pepper underneath and returned the shakers to their stations along the counter.

 

Ruby’s eyes lit up with awareness. “You’ve been getting laid!” Regina’s head whipped up and then looked around the diner. She noticed a fleeting smile cross the only customer’s face across the diner.

 

“Geez, can you announce it a little louder? I don’t think the _entire_ town heard you.” Regina barked when she got closer.

 

“You’ve been getting it regularly too, I’ll bet.” Ruby eyed her friend up and down and thought to random moments in the last few days where Regina had seemed happier than she had seen her friend in a long time. “You’ve been holding out on me, Your Highness. You know we tell each other everything; _including_ all the good stuff!”

 

Knowing that she was right, Regina had the decency to look a little ashamed and she leaned on the counter. “Fine… my love life has never been a closed book where you’re concerned… what do you want to know, Rubes?”

 

“Is it with Emma?”

 

“What the…” Regina feigned offense and returned a dumbfounded expression to her honorary sister. “Of _course_ it’s with Emma. Who do you think I am, the town skank?”

 

Ruby giggled, “No, that’s my job.” They both giggled together and Ruby prodded, “Was it _good?I”_ When Regina blushed profusely, Ruby tittered like a school girl. “Well, that answers that!”

 

“Are we done?”

 

“No.” Ruby thought for a moment, “When did you guys start doing the nasty again?”

 

“Last Saturday.”

 

“And you’re just telling me this now?! Regina!”

 

Regina was laughing now, holding her hands out in surrender in front of her. “Alright, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Okay. Well, she came over Saturday morning with a box of glazed doughnuts…”

 

“And don’t tell me,” Ruby interrupted, “… she preferred to eat your glazed doughnut instead.”

 

“Do you want to hear the story or not?” Regina reprimanded swatting at the other woman playfully.

 

“Alright, alright. I couldn’t resist. Continue.”

 

“ _Anyway…_ Emma came over with doughnuts and coffee, Henry was out with his friends and was not due back until dinner, so we spent the whole day in bed; bathroom breaks and dashes into the kitchen for sustenance, excluded of course.”

 

“Oh, of course.” Regina slanted a mischievous look at her. “Only that was the PG-13 version. Now give me the explicit XXX-rated one.”

 

Regina shook her head in laughter indicating that Ruby’s request was going to be denied. “Do I look like the kind of woman who would have multiple orgasms and tell?”

 

 _“Did_ you have multiple orgasms?” Ruby goaded the shorter haired brunette to respond enjoying how truly happy Regina looked.

 

“Can’t you tell?” Regina teased, wiggling her eyebrows sinfully, and then gestured to the woman sitting in the booth, “Go check on your customer. You need to occupy your dirty mind with work and I need to get the kitchen ready for Leroy’s shift.

 

“One more question, maybe…” Ruby continued without a waiting for approval. “Has she been spending nights?” To Ruby, this was an important question and she relayed the seriousness of it in her tone. She watched Regina nibble on her bottom lip nervously.

 

“Yes.” When Ruby’s next question was in her eyes Regina nodded and replied, “Every night since.”

 

“And Henry’s ok with it?” Ruby was sure the kid was but it was a valid question.

 

“Are you kidding? The woman is a badass, knows karate and has a gun. She might as well be the female version of Jason Stratham. He’s already asked her whether she could teach him how to shoot.”

 

“But just not like how his mother _shoots the sheriff’s gun_ though,” Ruby offered naughtily nodding her head.

 

Regina just blinked for a few seconds and chuckled. “That was pretty bad, Rubes…”

 

“Yeah, it was lame.” Ruby was chuckling now as they started to walk away from each other.

 

“It didn’t even make any _sense_ ,” Regina laughed on her way to the kitchen.

 

“I _know_ ,” Ruby shrugged, good naturedly. “It was stupid, but I’m not spot-on _every_ time,” she defended as she stuck her tongue out at Regina who gave her a sarcastic eye brow raise before disappearing behind the swinging kitchen door.

 

Ruby flicked her dark hair behind her back and approached the woman sitting at the table, taking in her piercing blue eyes and ruby red lips; she was quite attractive. The yellow cardigan she was wearing over a white blouse gave her a very wholesome appearance, but those red lips were the color of sin. Interesting contrast.

 

“Is there anything else, I can get you, hon, or will that be it?”

 

“I’m fine thanks. Are you chasing me out?” She grinned attractively.

 

“Not at all,” replied Ruby, “May I?” She gestured to the booth bench across from her.

 

“Certainly,” the dark redhead welcomed.

 

“I’m Ruby Lucas. I own the joint.” She spread her arms out to encompass the diner.

 

“Belle French.”

 

“You’re not from around here, Belle French,” Ruby gave her a sideways glance, “Don’t tell me. Australia.”

 

Belle beamed at Ruby and nodded, “Very good! Yes. From Melbourne originally.”

 

“Well what brings you all the way out to Storybrooke, Maine for goodness sakes? I hear Australia is gorgeous!”

 

“That it is…,” Belle agreed with a light shake of the head and Ruby noticed a little of the sparkle leave her eyes, “… but I needed a change of scenery.”

 

“Ah…” The woman was clearly running from something. Ruby wasn’t sure why but she instantly sympathized with the woman and wanted to befriend her. “How long have you been in town?”

 

Belle opened her mouth and then she hesitated. Maybe Ruby shouldn’t pry. She knew that sometimes she had a habit of talking too much. “Not too long. Just long enough.” Ruby frowned in confusion but before she had time to ask, the front door bell chimed and in walked two of her favorite people, Killian and Robin.

 

To Belle she presented, “Now these two were out-of-towners once too. Originally from the UK.”

 

“Ruby, love,” the dark haired Killian asked. Is it too late to get two orders of lasagna to go? Today’s Regina’s day on, yeah?”

 

“Regina!” Robin shouted, “Are you here, beautiful?”

 

“Oh hush,” Regina joked from the pick-up window. “Do you want to disturb everyone in the bed and breakfast upstairs?”

 

“Hello, my darling.” Robin threw her a smile. “Do you still have any more of that delicious lasagna left over or did the lunch crowd eat it all?

 

“Oh, I think I could scrounge up some burnt left overs in the bottom of the pan for you two.”

 

“Aye,” Killian began, “Even your burnt left overs are worth it.” The men sauntered closer to Ruby. “Well, who do we have here then?” Both men sent Belle a mega-watt smile. Oh, so vain.

 

“Oh,” Ruby began. “Belle,” she said to them and then, totally captivated by Belle’s smile, later added the woman’s last name as an afterthought. “French.”

 

“Oh, French!” Robin held out his hand and when she placed her hand in his he kissed it ceremoniously, “Enchanté mademoiselle.” Ruby guffawed.

 

“Oh no, Australian,” Belle corrected and then laughed at their confused looks, “French is my last name.”

Robin looked at Killian and in a fake French accent he gibed, “But of course!” Killian just shook his head at him.

 

“An Aussie, eh? How are things down under?”

 

“I haven’t been down under in quite a while.”

 

“Huh…” Killian sent Robin a sexy look, “I was down under just this morning.”

 

“Oh!” Ruby exclaimed as Robin winked at his lover.

 

“Belle, let me introduce you to these two ‘randy bearded idiots’, Killian and Robin, Storybrooke’s first _gay_ married couple!”

 

“Congratulations, men.”

 

“Thanks, love.”

 

At that moment, Regina came out, approaching them with a white paper bag between her hands.

 

“And we _hear_ ,” Robin eyed Regina, “that we shall not be the _only gay_ married couple in town soon.”

 

“Tell us, love,” Killian began, “Did the sheriff finally sweep you off your feet with her womanly wiles.”

 

“Yes, off your feet and onto your back? Sparing the rest of us those longing, _pining_ looks you have been giving each other for months now.” Robin further stated.

 

“Longer than that,” corrected Killian. “Don’t you remember the 4th of July parade? The poor Storybrooke High Marching Band, who had practiced so fully to entertain us all, but everyone on the street, was too busy looking at Regina, looking at Emma, who was looking at Regina, who was pretending _not_ to be looking at Emma.”

 

Ruby erupted into a fit of giggles and then Belle joined in. “It was true, darling,” was Robin’s input. “The least you could do is own up to it now… you know, since you two lovely lezzies are getting hitched.”

 

Regina was all smiles and then she lifted her eye brows in a menacing, yet joking manner. “Enjoy your _arsenic_ laced lasagna, boys.”

 

And then she sauntered off toward the kitchen again but did not disappear before she turned to them and gave them a good natured farewell smile.

 

“Oh,” Robin feigned a sentimental shake of his head, “If I were only straight.”

 

“If you were straight,” Killian put a hand to Robin’s lower back, “I would still have persuaded you over to the dark side because I am so roguishly handsome.”

 

“And generously endowed to be sure AND positively _made_ for pleasure.” Robin added.

 

“Well,” Killian winked at the table’s occupants, “They don’t call me _Hook_ for nothing.”

 

Ruby pretended to be scandalized at their normal banter and waved them away. “Go, _GO!_ You’re _scaring_ my customer!” She glanced at Belle but the woman was red in the face from laughing and tearing. Both men affectionately gave Ruby a kiss to the top of her head with “Goodbye, Ruby love” and “Goodbye darling. We’ll see you soon”, and then they were gone.

 

Ruby turned toward Belle, who was still chuckling and she thought the woman had a very easy going nature and a nice laugh.

 

“Sorry about them.”

 

“Not at all. They were hysterical!”

 

“Yes… they are our very own _Birdcage_ pair.” Ruby made the reference to the film starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane playing a gay couple. She watched Belle grab a napkin from the dispenser under the window to wipe at her eyes and found herself unexpectedly offering, “You know, if you’d like someone to show you around or if you have any questions about anything, let me know. I’d be happy to assist.”

 

Belle gazed at her and smiled at her, “Thank you, Ruby.”

 

“Any time, Belle.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to let me know what you think of this chapter. I'm curious. Haha!
> 
> Thank you for reading.


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